Chapter 432

Siegfried failed to dodge Duke Taranis’ fist—no, he couldn't even attempt to dodge it in the first place.

When did he get here? How did he close the distance and throw a punch in the blink of an eye? How the hell was Siegfried supposed to evade a punch that arrived in front of his eyes in less than a blink of an eye?

Baaam!

Duke Taranis’ fist plunged into Siegfried's solar plexus.

“...!”

Siegfried stiffened as if a lightning bolt had struck him.

“

Blegh!”

Siegfried vomited a mouthful of blood after getting hit by an unprecedented punch.

[Siegfried van Proa]

[HP: ??????????]

The punch shredded thirty percent of his HP in an instant. Duke Taranis' status as the Descendant of Thunder God Vajra was truly not for show, and he definitely lived up to his status.

“

Argh...!”

Duke Taranis grabbed Siegfried by the neck and said, “It’s time for you to pay for messing with me, Siegfried van Proa.”

“

A-Argh...!”

“I shall start by smashing that annoying smug face of yours,” Duke Taranis said. He raised his fist once again and threw another punch.

Ziiiiing!

However, Taycan shot a laser beam at the duke’s back, saving Siegfried from getting his face smashed in.

“I told you it’s futile.”

Unfortunately, Taycan’s laser beam only managed to make Duke Taranis flinch.

It didn't deal any substantial damage.

“I’m sure I’ve told you to know your place, my pathetic junior. Your Lightning Force won’t work against me.”

“D-Damn it!”

Bam!

Siegfried exploited the moment Duke Taranis was distracted and lowered his guard. He escaped from the chokehold by twisting his body, and then he kicked the duke’s chin to widen the distance between them.

Tak!

He then pushed out his hips and used the active skill of the Great Champion’s Belt, Energy Buster, to help Taycan against the duke.

Ziiiiiiiing!

Siegfried’s Energy Buster and Taycan’s laser beam combined together against the duke.

“You pesky little brats,” Duke Taranis grumbled. He spread out his arms and shot out two laser beams to strike at the laser beams flying toward him

Ziiiiiiing!

Siegfried’s mana and Taycan’s Lightning Force tried to push back Duke Taranis’ Lightning Force.

“Push! Push harder!”

“I’m trying!”

Siegfried and Taycan squeezed out every ounce of their strength, but they couldn't defeat Duke Taranis. Forget about pushing Duke Taranis’ laser beams; Duke Taranis was pushing them back instead.

“W-We’re getting pushed back!

Ah!”

“Argh!”

Siegfried and Taycan squeezed out every single bit of energy in their bodies to no avail.

“

Kyu!

Hamchi will help, owner punk!

Kyuuuu! Kyuuuuuu!”

Hamchi shouted and used Kyu! Laser Beam.

Ziiiiing!

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Siegfried, Taycan, and Hamchi’s laser beams spun like a vortex before fusing together to form a tri-colored laser beam.

“...!”

Duke Taranis looked quite relaxed ever since the battle started, but he grimaced for the first time as the tri-colored laser beam slowly inched toward him, pushing him back in the process. It seemed that dealing with three opponents at the same time was difficult even for the duke.

“More! More! More!”

“

Kyuuuuuu!”

“ARGH!”

Siegfried, Hamchi, and Taycan found renewed vigor after seeing Duke Taranis get pushed back, and they squeezed even more of their energy.

Unfortunately, it was to no avail.

“It’s futile,” Duke Taranis said. His laser beam disappeared and was replaced by the Electric Barrier.

Wooong!

Duke Taranis’ Electric Barrier blocked the tri-colored laser beam, which dissipated after coming into contact with the barrier. The trio had poured their entire strength into that attack, but it came to a lackluster end.

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

Duke Taranis wrapped both hands with his lightning as he walked toward the trio.

“He’s strong...” Siegfried muttered. Duke Taranis was emitting the distinct air that only a truly powerful supreme elite could exude.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Duke Taranis walked without an ounce of hesitation, and he radiated confidence with every step he took. It was the exact same

walk

that Deus emphasized in his very first lesson.

‘

I guess there's a reason why he became the Thunder God’s descendant...'

Siegfried finally realized that he had found his opponent. Thunder God Vajra was an uber-powerful being whom Deus had failed to defeat four hundred fifty years ago.

Today, Duke Taranis was proving that he was the Descendant of Thunder God Vajra. He had yet to reach the level of a Master, but he was without a doubt an enemy much more powerful than Siegfried.

‘

There’s a different thrill to beating the shit out of those stronger than me,’

Siegfried thought with a smirk. Then, he kicked Taycan’s butt.

Smack!

“Ack!

What was that for?!” Taycan screamed.

“You stay back,” Siegfried nonchalantly replied before walking toward the duke.

“Why should I stay back?!”

“You’ll just get in the way.”

“W-What?! But—“

“I said, stay back.”

“O-Okay...”

Taycan went silent. His strength wasn't the issue here. The problem was that he was simply not Duke Taranis' opponent, as they both practiced the same arts, which meant Duke Taranis was bound to defeat Taycan, no matter how much the latter struggled.

“I will... leave it to you...”

“Sure,” Siegfried replied confidently as he stood in front of the duke. Then, the one-on-one between the two finally started.

“Bring it on.”

“Your arrogance will be the death of you.”

“Here I come,” Siegfried said as he ran toward the duke with his +10 Horse Fly in hand.

***

The duel between Siegfried and Duke Taranis wasn't a close one at all.

Duke Taranis was strong. His Lightning Force was more than enough to overwhelm Siegfried, but Siegfried had a trick up his sleeve that made him confident that he could defeat Duke Taranis.

‘

He’s strong, but I can win.’

Siegfried was slowly becoming even more confident.

Duke Taranis was strong, but that was about it. Siegfried realized that his opponent was not as overwhelming as he thought. Siegfried felt like he was fighting someone who managed to obtain tremendous power by chance.

Duke Taranis was definitely strong, so Siegfried was still getting pushed back.

‘

Let’s wait for an opportunity,’

Siegfried thought. He focused on defending for now while waiting for his debuff fields to be off cooldown.

“Did you make an enemy of me with this pathetic skill of yours, Siegfried van Proa?”

Duke Taranis found a gap in Siegfried’s defense and exploited it.

Bzzt!

He shot his Lightning Force at Siegfried.

“

Ah!”

“Die.”

“

Argh!”

Siegfried ended up getting hit once again.

‘

I need to endure this!’

He gnashed his teeth and forced his numb body to move to avoid the oncoming attack, but...

Flash!

A bright light flashed, and Duke Taranis disappeared from view.

‘

Huh?’

Siegfried recalled the first time he physically clashed against the duke. It was exactly like this when Duke Taranis suddenly appeared in front of him.

‘

Teleport?!’

Right after that thought crossed his mind.

Duke Taranis appeared behind Siegfried. “Over here.”

Duke Taranis then swung his fists.

Bam!

Duke Taranis’ two fists struck Siegfried’s head.

“

ARGH!”

Siegfried crashed to the ground.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been stunned!]

[Alert: You have lost control of your character!]

He paid a steep price for failing to avoid the attack.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Duke Taranis punched Siegfried like a sandbag until the stun wore off.

[Siegfried van Proa]

[HP: ??????????]

When Siegfried was no longer stunned, he only had twenty percent of his HP remaining.

To make matters worse, Duke Taranis had grabbed him by the neck.

“You’re immortal because you’re an Adventurer, right?” Duke Taranis sneered.

“

Argh...!”

“This will be the first death I’m granting you.”

Flash!

A bright light flashed once again, but the light was against Duke Taranis this time.

Siegfried cast Absolute Zero while the duke had his guard down.

Unfortunately, Duke Taranis didn't get completely frozen by the skill.

“

Ugh...!”

Duke Taranis grimaced, but he could still move despite the extreme cold.

“What is this petty trick—“

“It’s all part of the plan,” Siegfried said with a smirk. Then, he gathered his mana and placed down all of his debuff fields at once.

Wooooong!

Lastly, he gathered his remaining mana into his +10 Horse Fly until chunks of mana started forming around it.

“...!”

Duke Taranis instinctively knew the next attack from Siegfried could possibly end his life. He immediately reacted by gathering his Lightning Force to form the Electric Barrier, but he failed.

Woooong!

Siegfried cast Waves of Oppression, interrupting Duke Taranis' skill activation.

“What in the world?!“ Duke Taranis exclaimed, baffled.

Siegfried immediately cast Death’s Touch and swung his +10 Horse Fly.

“Damn you, pesky bra—!” Duke Taranis was about to scream.

Krwaaaang!

However, he failed to scream as Death’s Touch

touched

his chest first.

***

Siegfried’s plan was immaculate. He waited for his debuff fields to go off cooldown and became a sandbag on purpose to lower his enemy's guard. He bided his time and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike back, and he did not forget to disrupt the activation of Duke Taranis’ defensive skill the moment he fought back.

He even made sure to time his attack perfectly so that Death's Touch would hit Duke Taranis. Siegfried's plan had succeeded, and Duke Taranis was blasted dozens of meters away.

“

Ugh...”

Siegfried groaned as he forced himself back to his feet.

Taycan rushed over and helped him to his feet. “Are you alright?”

“Do I look alright? No, I’m not.”

“Great job. I’m serious. I will never forget this favor. You are our kingdom’s savior.”

“Please don’t forget about this.

Ughh...”

“I won’t...!”

“Also, I’d appreciate it if you show your gratitude with a token—“ Siegfried caught himself in time before he could say

token of appreciation

. He wasn't embarrassed for asking for it with his own mouth—no, he stopped because a shiver went down his spine.

Siegfried looked around as an ominous feeling crept up on him.

‘

What was that? Don’t tell me he's still alive?’

Duke Taranis was flung off the fortress walls and fell down the cliff, and Siegfried looked down just in case to check if there were any traces of him or not.

It was at that moment that thought crossed his mind.

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

Something was flashing from the foot of the cliff, and it was flying straight up for them.

“...!”

Both Siegfried and Taycan were horrified after they realized the identity of the object flying straight at them.

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

Duke Taranis flew up to the fortress walls and hovered right in front of their eyes while emitting lightning arcs. He looked entirely different now compared to earlier, and the word

human

no longer suited him.

Blue and red currents flashed alternately around him, and the mana he was exuding created lightning arcs that jumped about in the air around him. The scene looked as if the Thunder God himself had descended upon the continent.

Flash!

But that was not the end of it...

Duke Taranis was wearing a pair of knuckles, and they were no ordinary knuckles.

Siegfried immediately cast Rune of Insight after realizing that there was something special about the knuckles that Duke Taranis was wearing.

[+16 Thunder God’s Lightning Hand]

[An artifact containing the Thunder God’s authority.]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Level Restriction: 250]

The knuckles possessed a whopping +16 enhancement.

Taycan’s face turned ghastly pale upon recognizing the weapon.

“That is...! W-We have to run away! Hey, Siegfried! We have to...?”

Taycan desperately shouted, but it turned out that he didn't have to scream.

And it was all because...

“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?! Run!”

“...”

“Don’t try to be a hero, moron! How can we defeat him now?! Run!”

Siegfried had already begun running even before Taycan could warn him.

Yes, Siegfried had indeed ditched Taycan.